In the old days, all I wanted to do was spar. It kept my eye sharp and my reflexes honed. We didn’t have much use for kata in the 60s. Real men sparred. The saying was “Those who can, spar. Those who can’t, do kata.” But as I got older, I came to appreciate the value of traditional Japanese/Okinawan kata, both for my own training and that of my students, and why the old masters held them in such high regard – and thankfully left them so their voices could still instruct us.
I practiced only Shotokan and Gosoku kata back then. (Gosoku Ryu is the style of my primary instructor, Soke Takayuki Kubota. He developed several unique kata – such as Tamashi, Denko Getsu, Rikyu, etc. – that contain very quick ashi and tai sabaki, which carries directly over into creating broken rhythm in fighting.) The Shotokan kata have become more refined over time, more precise. But back then, their actions were still large and full powered. Sensei Nakayama likened them to the explosion of a hand grenade – nothing and then in a split second bone crushing, brick breaking power is unleashed. And I liked that. Hit and penetrate.
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| One of my early black belt students, Mike Moti, scores an obvious point at the California State Championships. |
Whereas the Gosoku kata were very practically oriented, the Shotokan bunkai back then was always a little suspect – spear hands to the solar plexus, and such, stuff you’d never use in a real fight. When I was flying back from the WUKO Championships in Cairo, Egypt, in 1988, I was fortunate to be seated next to the legendary Takayuki Mikami, one of the all-time Shotokan greats. (I was soon named one of the U.S. coaches and traveled often with him, as he was senior coach.) It was a long flight and we spoke about many things, including bunkai. He told me there wasn’t any real bunkai in Shotokan kata at that time, that to learn the true bunkai I’d have to look to Shorin Ryu or jujitsu, which I did.
For many years prior to and after that incident, I was very involved in competition – as a competitor, instructor to competitors, national coach, and Co-director of the National Coaches Education Committee. I found that side of karate very interesting and challenging – the personal preparation for competing myself, preparing my students to do well, preparing members of our national team to represent our country in international competition, and also preparing our coaches, kept me on my toes. (Often we took out an inexperienced U.S. team who had to fight tougher and far more experienced international fighters. So my goal was often to teach them neutralization techniques so they didn’t get killed.)
In the next couple of installments on this subject, I’ll get into something that surprised me about how top kata competitors trained and about the current focus on bunkai and kyusho and tuite (pressure point attacks and grappling).
Thanks again for reading my humble ramblings.
Osu Hanshi! I've noticed that we have bunkai for our kyu kata (Heain & Tekki), but am wondering if this was added as an after thought?
ReplyDeleteI had read somewhere that a fake set of kata was taught to all "Giajin" where the bunkai was practically useless. (I've seen some effective bunkai with ours, but I don't know if it's different from others.)
I certainly still see the value of kata, even if it doesn't have an immediate fighting application. Especially in teaching form. I however assume that we practice both fighting/sparring techniques and kata so as to supplement the "weak fighting applications" of the kyu kata?
I could be WAY off, but I have a natural curiosity regarding this; especially due to my dream of being a Sensei (And of course more).
I've also noticed that you make subtle changes in the kata (over the years). I guess that this is to make up for the false aspects and/or keep the kata somewhat ineffective until Shodan? (Kind of like keeping a loaded gun from a three year old.)
So I guess I'm asking how effective our Kyu kata is with the bunkai we use? Again, I see some effectiveness, but not something I'd usually use in a fight, just as you mentioned in your article.
I hope I haven't opened up too much of a can of worms. =)
Thanks for your comments, John. I'll get into most if not all of that in coming installments. This all just my take on things and others probably have their own. But you have to look at the action performed and not so much at the most basic interpretation. Then, think outside the box as to how many different ways that same action could be applied. For example, the opening move in Heian Shodan could be a downward block, an armbar, a strike to the groin, etc. Same action, very different interpretations. Within the first few moves of that particular kata, there are not only several different interpretations of each move but also a number of very significant tactical elements.
ReplyDeleteOkay, here's what I meant by "tactical elements". (Tactical concepts would have been a better term.) Within the first two moves of Heian Shodan, you have several tactical concepts. A few of these may not be familar to you. These include "entering step", "extension of the hara", and "kuzushi". Here's another clue. How do you think things would turn out if you tried to block a baseball bat with a twig?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reply Hanshi. =) I've got some new karate homework now =)
ReplyDeleteSir,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about suspect bunkai. When I was being taught these kata years ago, the bunkai taught was what were the most obvious application of a move, regardless of whether it made sense or not. I and other friends/instructors of mine have spent much time lately looking for better, more "proper" bunkai.
If you haven't checked it out, take a look at http://www.iainabernethy.co.uk/. He has some very interesting ideas about bunkai.
Thank you. I am familiar with Iain Abernethy but thanks for providing the link. I try to stay abreast of what information and different insights are available.
ReplyDeleteHanshi,
ReplyDeleteAnother thought provoking article as always and have been noodling this a bit.
I think there's something to be said about folks with better natural fighting abilities due to environmental conditions, genetics, etc. Also, folks who are driven with a passion to spar would certainly improve their sparring (assume they learn).
My current beliefs about karate aligns with the 3 K's--kihon, kata, kumite. The kihon provides the basis to perform kata and kumite, and the kata enhances the kumite effectiveness. To that end, I find kata enriches the kihon by forcing rhythm, timing, breathing, focus, transition, etc. I think kata is like sharpening a knife metaphorically.
Thank you for the experience, history, and perspective as always.
--shawn
Hi, Shawn,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. Sounds like you got things right. Kihon is critical as it’s the basic building blocks from which everything else is constructed – kind of like karate Legos, where a few pieces enable you to build many different things. Correct form in the execution of our kicks, punches, strikes, and blocks not only enable us to deliver maximum power but to do so safely, without sustaining serious injury to ourselves (broken wrists, etc.). Proper stances become the platforms from which maximally powerful, bone breaking, body penetrating techniques can be launched. I’ll be talking more soon about the value of kata and kumite.
Osu! Thanks for more insights Hanshi.
ReplyDelete